Labor must decide whether it will stand by environmental protections or roll over to Adani and big oil wanting to drill in the Bight, the Greens say.

“It is dirty fossil fuels or the environment. If Labor is to have a credible environment policy, they need to commit to no new coal, oil and gas, fund environmental protections, stop Adani and protect the Bight,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The strong environmental protections announced by Labor today will fail without proper investment, and a commitment to no new coal, oil and gas.

“We welcome Labor adopting Greens’ policy on stronger protections for the environment, but without proper investment and committing to no new coal, oil and gas they will fail,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Australian Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will bring her Private Member’s Bill to ban oil and gas drilling in the Great Australian Bight to the Senate for debate today.

Leaked documents from Equinor’s own oil spill data that show oil could reach Sydney beaches are a wake-up call to all Australians, the Greens say.

“This internal report shows oil and sludge would devastate Australia’s southern coastline, all the way up to Sydney’s beaches. It must be stopped,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“This alarming new data must put to bed any consideration for allowing oil and gas drilling in the Great Australian Bight. It has serious dangers for almost all Australian states.

Greens mining spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters says the Government should be sued for ignoring water laws for Adani’s 12.5 billion litre water pipeline, unless the Environment Minister intervenes today and requires a full environmental impact assessment.

“We learned three weeks ago that this Government had done yet another special deal for Adani, exempting them from water laws despite their plans to suck out almost as much water as all the other users combined, from a drought-stricken region,” Senator Waters said. 

Resources Minister Matt Canavan is misleading the Australian people by linking petrol prices to drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight, the Greens say.

 “Saying that letting big oil drill in the Bight will lower petrol prices is plainly wrong and highly misleading,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“The Minister is either deliberately lying, or he doesn’t know what he’s talking about by trying to link current petrol prices to the push for drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

Members of the Labor Party agitating for improving their stance on the environment must fight for investment, and change on the party’s stance on fossil fuels, if they are to take a strong policy to the next election.

“The real test will be how much they are willing to prioritise funding to protect and restore the environment. If they are on the side of protecting our natural environment, it will need investment,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

In an effort to drum up investment in its ailing Carmichael mine, Adani has again announced the project is about to get off the ground adding to its already long history of false starts, Greens spokesperson for Mining and Resources, Queensland Senator, Larissa Waters said.

“Adani are producing more spin than coal,” Senator Waters said.

“I’ve lost count of the number of times Adani has said they are about to “hit the green light” on their mega coal mine.

A team of senators from the Morrison Government, the Labor party, and Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance has rejected a motion calling for a ban on dangerous underground coal gasification. It followed a protest at Leigh Creek Energy’s AGM today.

Today a Greens motion passed the Senate demanding that the Government stop Adani’s pipeline application from being assessed until the federal investigation into their environmental breaches is concluded.

“It would be outrageous for Adani to continue seeking a fresh environmental approval when they’re being investigated for breaching the last one,” said Mining and Resources spokesperson for the Australian Greens, former environmental lawyer Senator Larissa Waters.